Street Trace NYC
Encyclopedia
Street Trace NYC is a cel-shaded combat hoverboard
racing game set in the Boroughs of New York City
outside Manhattan by independent software developer Gaia Industries for the Xbox 360's
Xbox Live Arcade
service. The game gets its name from the New York City setting and the Tron
-like light trails the hoverboards generate. The game was released on August 22, 2007, and costs 800 Microsoft Points
($10 USD).
The single player game involves a story arc
that comprises five tournaments which include 63 matchups and three bosses
, as well as 18 "trial" games that will be posted on the Xbox Live online leaderboard. The player is awarded four types of medals depending on the skill of their performance (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) in both the tournaments and trial games.
The game features two chief modes of racing: Racing and Arena:
The game allows two to four players on a single machine (split-screen), with up to four bots
, and up to eight players online over Xbox Live
.
Hoverboard
A Hoverboard is a fictional hovering board used for personal transportation in the films Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III. Hoverboards resemble a skateboard without wheels. Through special effects the filmmakers depicted the boards hovering above the ground...
racing game set in the Boroughs of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
outside Manhattan by independent software developer Gaia Industries for the Xbox 360's
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service. The game gets its name from the New York City setting and the Tron
Tron (film)
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...
-like light trails the hoverboards generate. The game was released on August 22, 2007, and costs 800 Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
($10 USD).
Gameplay
The game features both single player and multiplayer play.The single player game involves a story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
that comprises five tournaments which include 63 matchups and three bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, as well as 18 "trial" games that will be posted on the Xbox Live online leaderboard. The player is awarded four types of medals depending on the skill of their performance (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) in both the tournaments and trial games.
The game features two chief modes of racing: Racing and Arena:
- Racing games include:
- Screamer: standard racing without weapons
- Chaos: racing without a finish line - the race is "won" by collecting flags and shooting targets
- Streettrace: combat racing on extended tracks
- Arena games include:
- Flag: a Capture the flagCapture the flagCapture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
variant in which flags are carried to a target for points - Hunter: a version of Kill the Carrier
- Chaos: similar to the Racing version, except within an arena
- Takedown: a deathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
game
- Flag: a Capture the flag
The game allows two to four players on a single machine (split-screen), with up to four bots
Computer game bot
A bot, most prominently in the first-person shooter types , is a type of weak AI expert system software which for each instance of the program controls a player in deathmatch, team deathmatch and/or cooperative human player. Computer bots may play against other bots and/or human players in unison,...
, and up to eight players online over Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
.
Reception
- IGN: 5.0/10
- GameSpot: 5.5/10
- Gamer's Guide: 2/10
External links
- Gaia Industries
- Joystiq interview
- XBLA-Info - Blog Interview